Background: The most energy efficient houses today are so called passive houses. These houses achieve high energy-efficiency partly by having well insulated walls. U-value describes the amount of heat transfered through a building element, the more insulation, the smaller U-value. A typical passive house wall have a U-value of 0.10 W/m2,°C. The passive houses are primarily made as small family houses and not as a block of apartments. This is partly because the bigger houses often are made of prefabricated walls, which at present times are not made with enough insulation. One construction method common in prefabrication is a sandwich-construction with two layer of concrete surrounding a core of cellular plastic. Skanska is making this type of walls in a factory on Gotland. We wanted to combine the energy efficiency of passive housing with the efficiency of prefabricated sandwich-walls. Aims: To present a suggestion of a sandwich-construction made with concrete and cellular plastic with a U-value below 0.10 W/m2,°C, that could be implemented in the factory on Gotland. Methods: By analyzing systems of today we developed two different models that have a U-value below 0.10 W/m2,°C. The first system was developed from a system used in Skanska’s factory on Gotland and the second one was based on a system delivered by Halfen DEHA. This was made through empirical tests and theoretical calculations. We compared the developed systems in terms of the conditions in Skanska’s factory on Gotland. Result and discussion: The system based on Halfen DEHA needs a larger amount of shackles, than the system developed from Skanska’s present system. This leads to the need of thicker insulation to achieve the desired U-value. The reason is that the Skanska-based system uses a combination of shackles and cellular plastic to carry the loads of the coating layer while the Halfen DEHA depends on the shackles alone. We believe that the first of our two developed systems is the best in terms of the ease in adopting to the production method in Skanska’s factory. The second system is safer in terms of controlling the production and has the possibility to have an air gap. Conclusion: In the rapport we present a sandwich-construction system that has a U-value below 0.10 W/m2,°C, that we believe would work for prefabrication of wall structures and could be easily adopted in Skanska’s factory on Gotland.

This thesis chronicles my experiences with developing a panelized wall system for use by Habitat for Humanity and with testing that system in the design and construction of a house. Presented as a series of narratives, it follows the progress of the project from August 2003 to December 2005. Described is my motivation to test my theories through design and construction, the applicability of prefabrication to Habitat for Humanity’s use of unskilled volunteer labour, the incorporation of panelization into the design of a house for the Waterloo Region affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, the prefabrication of preclad wood framed wall panels for this house by students at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, the erection of these wall panels on-site, and the completion of the house to a weathertight state. The thesis concludes with discussions of the understanding I gained through my experiences, the necessity for further development and testing of the panelized wall system, and the future use of prefabrication by Habitat for Humanity.

The purpose of this Master Thesis is to study how the value stream mapping concept can be applied along the construction supply chain for prefabricated massive timber floor elements. Identification and qualification of waste are starting points to propose suggestions on how to reduce and/or eliminate them. In order to use the value stream mapping along the construction supply chain, pertinent data has been collected and analyzed. To conduct the value stream mapping, the first three steps of the lean thinking principles in construction have been followed. The first step aims at defining the customer and his value as well as the value for the delivery team and how it is specified in the product. The second step is based on identifying the value stream and this is done through defining the resources and activities needed to manufacture, deliver and install the floor elements. This is conducted by using the VSMM methodology. In addition the current practice should be standardized and key component suppliers should be defined and located. The third and last step identifies non-value adding activities, in other words waste and suggestions on how to remove and/or reduce waste have been reached. Wastes from product defects, transportation waste and waste of waiting were to be found in the construction supply chain. Propositions to reduce and/or eliminate wastes were to implement a more careful planning of the manufacturing process and production schedule, to apply lean production principles in the manufacturing facility and decrease and or eliminate storage time. The study made has shown that in the supply chain of massive timber floor elements at Limnologen there is a big potential to lower costs and increase customer value as value added-time accounted for only 2% of the total time.

This study presents a conceptual design process for one-way reinforced concrete slabs cast over Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) Stay-in-Place (SiP) formwork elements, aiming at the minimization of the composite slab cost satisfying Ultimate Limit State (ULS) and Serviceability Limit State (SLS) design criteria. The thin-walled TRC element is considered to participate in the structural behaviour of the composite slab. This distinct function of the TRC element (as formwork and as a part of a composite element) distinguishes the design procedure into two States: a Temporary and a Permanent one. Design parameters such as the type of the textile reinforcement (material), the geometry of the TRC cross-section, the flexural strength of the fine-grained concrete in the TRC element and the compressive strength of the cast in-situ concrete are considered as the main optimization variables.

<p>The purpose of this Master Thesis is to study how the value stream mapping concept can be applied along the construction supply chain for prefabricated massive timber floor elements. Identification and qualification of waste are starting points to propose suggestions on how to reduce and/or eliminate them. In order to use the value stream mapping along the construction supply chain, pertinent data has been collected and analyzed. To conduct the value stream mapping, the first three steps of the lean thinking principles in construction have been followed. The first step aims at defining the customer and his value as well as the value for the delivery team and how it is specified in the product. The second step is based on identifying the value stream and this is done through defining the resources and activities needed to manufacture, deliver and install the floor elements. This is conducted by using the VSMM methodology. In addition the current practice should be standardized and key component suppliers should be defined and located. The third and last step identifies non-value adding activities, in other words waste and suggestions on how to remove and/or reduce waste have been reached. Wastes from product defects, transportation waste and waste of waiting were to be found in the construction supply chain. Propositions to reduce and/or eliminate wastes were to implement a more careful planning of the manufacturing process and production schedule, to apply lean production principles in the manufacturing facility and decrease and or eliminate storage time. The study made has shown that in the supply chain of massive timber floor elements at Limnologen there is a big potential to lower costs and increase customer value as value added-time accounted for only 2% of the total time.</p>

Through the exporting of a portion of site-based work to fabrication shops, modularization (MOD) can enhance efficiency in the construction industry. The industry, however, applies modularization at only a low level. To reach higher levels of modularization, the EPC industry needs new approaches. Previous studies have identified the current trends in and barriers to the industry's application of modularization. Moreover, in 2013, the Construction Industry Institute's (CII) Research Team 283 identified 21 critical success factors (CSFs) that create an optimum environment for a broader and more effective use of modularization. However, the researcher has identified a need to better understand the relative significance of MOD CSFs and their associations with project performance. Thus, the research was conducted to provide recommendations for better project performance by identifying correlations between the accomplishment of MOD CSFs and project performance and examining actual modular projects' MOD CSF accomplishment. This study identified four statistically significant positive correlations. Those are between the accomplishment of MOD CSFs and: 1) cost performance; 2) schedule performance; 3) Construction performance; and 4) Startup performance. In addition to the correlation analysis, the study also identified the CSFs that appear to contribute the most to 1) "Modular Project Success", 2) Construction success, 3) Startup success, 4) Cost performance, and 5) Schedule performance. To collect information on the actual industrial modular projects, the study surveyed industry experts. By using this study, many industrial project stakeholders from owners to fabricators, designers and EPC contractors, will be able to understand the relationships between MOD CSFs and project performance. Such an understanding should motivate them to achieve better project performance through implementing modularization CSFs. / text

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to approach a solution to reduce housing shortage, by using inspiration from an industrialized building concept, which can lead to the opportunity for underprivileged people to get a livable housing. The aim is to study how knowledge from industrialized building could be used for a more efficient way of building in developing countries similar to Colombia.   Method:Utilizing literature studies for achieving abutment to published research also giving the authors an observant mind. With this knowledge, participatory observations were made as action research to explore the prevailing procedure when establishing a house. Operating analyzes, interviews were held in Leticia for understanding observed decisions. To be able to critically analyze the results from the interviews and observations, collected data were compared with knowledge based on the authors’ reference frames.   Findings:Keystones identified as the overall concept are applicable on establishments in the western world, since the concept is designed after similar conditions. Capital is required designing a building system as well as establishing a factory for prefabrication of elements, conditions limited in developing countries. Climate conditions and prevailing corruption prevents implementation of the concept. Identified weaknesses during the observations, noted repetition of unnecessary and non-value adding activities. One conclusion is not to implement the entire industrial building system, only practice the mindset. Initially keystones are implemented such as planning, exchange of information and reflection of performed projects, in order to improve upcoming projects. These keystones require no direct capital, merely a mindset that should be implemented.   Implications:The outcome of this study is to enlighten the subject, since obvious weaknesses were noticed, with capacity for development. Further research is realistic because, in a long term it will help solving the housing situation. For example, using this result as underlay for education like creating more efficient building, enlightening planning for reducing unnecessary non value-adding activities. As a conclusion of the study, identified weaknesses during the establishment affects the efficiency, creating unnecessary costs. A developing country should focus upon emphasizing reduction of costs, since their economic status is already declining.   Limitations: The observations during the case study have been concentrating on one small-scaled project in Leticia, Colombia. No further observations have been made but complements such as literature studies and interviews. Due to lack of time and language barrier, the amount of collected empirical data was too limited to provide durable conclusions for question formulations. Since only observations were performed on one establishment, a general result cannot be submitted.

Desafios em coordenação causados pela falta de integração entre projeto, produção e montagem em empresas que entregam sistemas de edificações pré-fabricados do tipo engineerto- order (ETO) têm levado a um aumento na adoção de tecnologias de informação. Embora as ferramentas de Building Information Modelling (BIM) têm sido utilizadas há vários anos, muitas empresas ainda não puderam implementar integralmente e tampouco perceber as vantagens de fluxos de trabalho integrado por BIM. Por outro lado, infraestruturas robustas de tecnologia desenvolvidas no setor da manufatura, a exemplo das empregadas em Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), representam novas oportunidades para estabelecer melhores conexões entre as ferramentas necessárias para o desenvolvimento de produtos de engenharia sofisticada e para o planejamento e controle de sistemas de produção em ambientes complexos. O objetivo dessa pesquisa é entender o contexto de implementação de BIM nessas empresas Design Science Research foi a abordagem metodológica adotada nesta pesquisa. Um conjunto de estudos empíricos foram conduzidos em uma empresa de estruturas metálicas do Brasil. Esses estudos permitiram identificar desafios a nível de projeto e da organização, mostrando que informações do produto contidos nos modelos BIM poderiam ser reutilizadas a jusante da cadeia de valor para diversas finalidades, tais como análise de engenharia, detecção de conflitos, e simulações de produção e de operações logísticas. Portanto, soluções integradas devem ser co-desenvolvidas por membros de equipes de diferentes departamentos funcionais. Esse poderia ser o primeiro passo para a transição da atual utilização de funções BIM para o visionado ambiente BIM-PLM. O roteiro e as diretrizes de implementação – fundamentadas nas abordagens de Sistemas Sociotécnicos e Technology Roadmapping – foram propostas para apoiar a criação de uma visão para a gestão de tecnologia. Para tanto, esta investigação fornece as configurações para entender o contexto de implementação e apresenta fatores críticos relacionados à adoção de tecnologias digitais integradas. / Coordination challenges caused by the lack of integration between design, production and assembly in companies that deliver engineer-to-order (ETO) prefabricated building systems have resulted in the growing adoption of information technologies. Although Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools have been used in the construction industry for several years, many firms have not been able to fully implement them and take advantages of BIM integrated workflows. By contrast, robust technology infrastructures developed in the manufacturing sector, such as those employed in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), represent new opportunities to establish better connections between digital tools which are necessary for the development of sophisticated engineering products, and planning and controlling production systems in complex environments, such as ETO prefabricated building systems. The aim of this investigation is to understand the context of BIM implementation in this type of firm. Design Science Research was the methodological approach adopted in this investigation A set of empirical studies were conducted in a Steel Fabricator company from Brazil. Those studies enabled the identification of challenges at project and organizational level by showing that product information contained in BIM models could be reused downstream in the value chain for different purposes, such as engineering analysis, clash detection, simulation of logistics and assembly operations. Therefore, integrated solutions should be co-developed by team members from different functional departments. This would be the first step for the transition from the current utilization of BIM functions towards the envisioned BIM-PLM environment. A roadmap and a set of guidelines for implementation, grounded on Socio- Technical Systems and Technology Roadmapping approaches, have been proposed to support the creation of a vision for technology management. In order to do so, this investigation provides the settings to understand the implementation context and critical factors related to the adoption of integrated digital technologies.

abstract: The semiconductor manufacturing business model provides unique challenges for the design and construction of supporting fabrication facilities. To accommodate the latest semiconductor processes and technologies, manufacturing facilities are constantly re-tooled and upgraded. Common to this sector of construction is the retrofit project environment. This type of construction project introduces a multitude of existing conditions constraints and functions entirely differently than traditional new-build projects. This facility conversion process is further constrained by owner needs for continuous manufacturing operations and a compressed design/construction schedule to meet first-to-market milestones. To better control the variables within this project environment, Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows are being explored and introduced into this project typology. The construction supply-chain has also increased their focus on offsite construction techniques to prefabricate components in a controlled environment. The goal is to overlap construction timelines and improve the productivity of workers to meet the increasingly demanding schedules and to reduce on-site congestion. Limited studies exist with regards to the manufacturing retrofit construction environment, particularly when focusing on the effectiveness of BIM and prefabrication workflows. This study fills the gap by studying labor time utilization rates for Building Information Modeling workflows for prefabrication of MEP (mechanical/electrical/plumbing) and process piping equipment in a retrofit construction environment. A semiconductor manufacturing facility serves as a case-study for this research in which the current state process for utilizing BIM for prefabrication is mapped and analyzed. Labor time utilization is studied through direct observation in relation to the current state modeling process. Qualitative analysis of workflows and quantitative analysis of labor time utilization rates provide workflow interventions which are implemented and compared against the current state modeling process. This research utilizes a mixed-method approach to explore the hypothesis that reliable/trusted geometry is the most important component for successful implementation of a BIM for prefabrication workflow in a retrofit environment. The end product of this research is the development of a prefaBIM framework for the introduction of a dynamic modeling process for retrofit prefabrication which forms the basis for a model-based delivery system for retrofit prefabrication. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Construction 2016

Desafios em coordenação causados pela falta de integração entre projeto, produção e montagem em empresas que entregam sistemas de edificações pré-fabricados do tipo engineerto- order (ETO) têm levado a um aumento na adoção de tecnologias de informação. Embora as ferramentas de Building Information Modelling (BIM) têm sido utilizadas há vários anos, muitas empresas ainda não puderam implementar integralmente e tampouco perceber as vantagens de fluxos de trabalho integrado por BIM. Por outro lado, infraestruturas robustas de tecnologia desenvolvidas no setor da manufatura, a exemplo das empregadas em Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), representam novas oportunidades para estabelecer melhores conexões entre as ferramentas necessárias para o desenvolvimento de produtos de engenharia sofisticada e para o planejamento e controle de sistemas de produção em ambientes complexos. O objetivo dessa pesquisa é entender o contexto de implementação de BIM nessas empresas Design Science Research foi a abordagem metodológica adotada nesta pesquisa. Um conjunto de estudos empíricos foram conduzidos em uma empresa de estruturas metálicas do Brasil. Esses estudos permitiram identificar desafios a nível de projeto e da organização, mostrando que informações do produto contidos nos modelos BIM poderiam ser reutilizadas a jusante da cadeia de valor para diversas finalidades, tais como análise de engenharia, detecção de conflitos, e simulações de produção e de operações logísticas. Portanto, soluções integradas devem ser co-desenvolvidas por membros de equipes de diferentes departamentos funcionais. Esse poderia ser o primeiro passo para a transição da atual utilização de funções BIM para o visionado ambiente BIM-PLM. O roteiro e as diretrizes de implementação – fundamentadas nas abordagens de Sistemas Sociotécnicos e Technology Roadmapping – foram propostas para apoiar a criação de uma visão para a gestão de tecnologia. Para tanto, esta investigação fornece as configurações para entender o contexto de implementação e apresenta fatores críticos relacionados à adoção de tecnologias digitais integradas. / Coordination challenges caused by the lack of integration between design, production and assembly in companies that deliver engineer-to-order (ETO) prefabricated building systems have resulted in the growing adoption of information technologies. Although Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools have been used in the construction industry for several years, many firms have not been able to fully implement them and take advantages of BIM integrated workflows. By contrast, robust technology infrastructures developed in the manufacturing sector, such as those employed in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), represent new opportunities to establish better connections between digital tools which are necessary for the development of sophisticated engineering products, and planning and controlling production systems in complex environments, such as ETO prefabricated building systems. The aim of this investigation is to understand the context of BIM implementation in this type of firm. Design Science Research was the methodological approach adopted in this investigation A set of empirical studies were conducted in a Steel Fabricator company from Brazil. Those studies enabled the identification of challenges at project and organizational level by showing that product information contained in BIM models could be reused downstream in the value chain for different purposes, such as engineering analysis, clash detection, simulation of logistics and assembly operations. Therefore, integrated solutions should be co-developed by team members from different functional departments. This would be the first step for the transition from the current utilization of BIM functions towards the envisioned BIM-PLM environment. A roadmap and a set of guidelines for implementation, grounded on Socio- Technical Systems and Technology Roadmapping approaches, have been proposed to support the creation of a vision for technology management. In order to do so, this investigation provides the settings to understand the implementation context and critical factors related to the adoption of integrated digital technologies.